26.4.08

Can you help me?

I watched 20/20 last night. It was one of those hidden camera "what would you do in this situation" ones. They used an actor to portray a lost child. In 3 different scenarios, he/she stood quietly alone, cried, and asked for help. Out of 1700 people who passed by, only 40-something stopped to help. I said to myself "I'll bet kids noticed". Sure enough, the kids who saw the lost child made their parents stop to help. I, of course, cried. I've always agreed with the advice to tell your kids to ask a woman for help, preferably one with kids, if they're lost. Looking for a policeman could take forever, not to mention depending on age, kids can't tell a policeman from a security guard, from a bus driver. Power to the kids, it's adults who are the scourge of the planet. Although, standing above the rest was this European woman who chased down John Quinones when he tried to walk away with the boy. She was about to tackle him. Restoring a sliver of faith in people.

4 rubber neckers:

Norma Shineynickels said...

So few people stopped? That's awful. People don't want to stop, because they don't want to be "creepy." I remember at the mall once, a little boy was wandering around, obviously crying and lost, and he was descended upon by moms, who got him back to his mom, who was so busy on the phone, she hadn't noticed he wandered off. Nice.

I'm sorry you cried, I squish you.

Sarah said...

One man was obviously aware of the potential "creepy" aspect. He stood a few feet away and talked to her. He showed her a picture of his daughter and called the police.

Ubermilf said...

Yeah, the desire to be "non-creepy" means you find a way to be non-threatening while helping the child, not ignore him/her and go on your merry way.

Almost everyone has a cell phone these days, and could've called police.

I missed that 20/20, so...

Maddie said...

Bah! That's horrible! Our society is full of a bunch of assholes!

And I'm not ignoring you...I've just been swallowed by finals. :-)

 

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